St. John's, NL
With their place in AUS playoffs previously confirmed, the Sea-Hawks took to the court vs the 1st place SMU Huskies on Friday evening in their penultimate regular season game. Looking to fine-tune their play and gain momentum ahead of next weekend's championships, the Hawks efficiently leveraged the first quarter to do just that. The high paced and high scoring period saw the teams trade buckets, with Memorial holding an 24-22 edge after 10 minutes.
Continuing on the front foot, possession by possession the Sea-Hawks grew their lead throughout the 2nd quarter. Despite a late surge by the Huskies, Memorial held a 1-point lead at the break, 42-41. Courtney Donaldson put up 13 first half point for the visitors. Not to be outdone during the final home weekend of her illustrious 5-year career, Alana Short had an impressive 19 before the teams headed to the locker rooms.
Saint Mary's grew into the game throughout the 3rd quarter, and used 8-0 run to take the lead 58-56. The Huskies pushed the envelope further in the early stages of the fourth, and through a balanced scoring approach opened up their biggest lead of the game, 65-59. A regroup following a coach English timeout saw the Sea-Hawks answer with a 6-0 run to tie the game 65 with 3 and a half minutes remaining.
An exciting finish witnessed 2 high quality teams competing neck and neck. Short continued to tally buckets, and Jenkins was effective driving to the basket. Huskies guard Alaina McMillan showed her class with a conniving slice to the rim for a layup, and quickly followed that up with a 3pointer to post a late lead the Huskies would not relinquish. The entertaining match went right down to the final possession. Saint Mary's converted some free throws in the dying stages to secure a slightly flattering 77-72 victory, although fans in attendance will know the contest was tighter than the final score line shows.
Short was the game leader in points and boards, with 27 and 9 respectively, showing why you can expect the 3x AUS All-Star to be named a 4th next week. Jenkins posted 21 points, 5 rebounds and 3 steals. McMillian was admittedly smooth for the visitors, and finished with 26.
Despite the L, Memorial will take solace in the fact that they went toe to toe with the 6th ranked team in the nation. The Sea-Hawks will conclude their 2023-24 regular season campaign tomorrow evening in a rematch vs the Huskies. It will be Senior's night at the Fieldhouse, as Memorial will celebrate the careers of its gradating student-athletes.